I am in the process of building a home with a larger Detroit area builder. Their brick supplier shipped two lots of brick to my lots. The net result after the masons were doen, is that I have two Uneven racing stripes down my house. The builder has offered to have the bricks stained, and offered a lifetime warranty on the process. I am more interested in getting the walls re-bricked. Does anyone know anything about staining bricks, and it’s longevity? Does it meet minimum building code? etc.
Even if the builder can match the brick color by staining them, they probably would not match the unstained bricks in the future because of UV degradation. Short of replacing the off color bricks, I don’t think anything else will give you color consistency.
Lifetime warranties are good as long as the paper they are written on in most cases.
The only people that I’ve heard good things about coloring brick from, whether by stain or another method, are the ones who do the coloring. Others, like people who sell or manufacture brick, maintain that it doesn’t work over the long term. If you have the luxury of having enough time, insist that the wall be re-bricked with the correct brick.
I have seen some brick staining done over a long period of time at the University of Tennessee. A stone specialist by the name of Linda Evans did a remarkable job in matching the brick colors and after 9 years..it still looks nice.
Even in the rain..the brick still wets out similarly to the untreated brick and the color has yet to wash out. I am not certain of the techniques she used. She can be reached 423-323-3812.
There is a large masonry company that used a styrenated acrylic based colored stain to change the color of brick but it is a very skilled trade. Someone with an excellent eye for color is required.
The stain is called Ultra-Stone stain.
Good luck
Greg Chapman
greg@elitecrete.com
Staining of brick can be successful if done with the right products. There are several staining companies out there with their own formulations. One company that has a good reputation in the masonry industry is Nawkaw (http://www.masonryart.com/nawkaw.html).
I can sympathize with your predicament. We have used Nakaw on two very large projects. One was over ten years ago, the other about five. I am very impressed with the results and lasting performance. These people are true artisans.